Training
by Missingmile
Summary: Spoiler and Batgirl are getting to know one another (eventually f/f, non-graphic)
1. Chapter 1

Training  
  
Written by Acacia Dyre  
  
Warning: F/F and yes that really does mean Slash... of a Spoiler/Batgirl sort. So if this idea squicks you out, do not read further. I make no promises about the quality, or the idea in general, but I had to get it out of my head. Also- I am reading the current story line in the Bat books, but am not following everything or even referring to a lot of it- so my time line may be odd. Starts slowly.  
  
Disclaimer: Spoiler, Batgirl and everyone else mentioned belong to DC Comics. I own a fat barn cat and a lot of old books.  
  
+  
  
It was just supposed to be for training, at least that was what Oracle had said. She outlined a lot of reasons why Spoiler and Batgirl should workout together. Steph could learn a lot about fighting and reading movement from Batgirl. Cass could learn more about being social from Spoiler, plus Steph had promised to help Cass learn how to read. Everyone else was busy, Batman was absent, and the two of them were sort of awkwardly thrown together.  
  
"I think I'm going to start matching my uniform pretty soon." Spoiler rotated her shoulders and stretched out again. "I could go naked and no one would notice as long as I had the hood on." She grinned and tossed a towel towards Batgirl. Of course it was caught perfectly. "Do you ever get tired?"  
  
Cassandra's head shook slightly, her mask was off and she was busy running the towel over her face. "No time."  
  
"No time to get tired? I don't think I'd like that, sleeping is too nice." Steph wandered towards the locker room, peeling her gloves off. "You must be more like Batman than Robin is; at least he goes back to his school to rest every once in a while." Her head tilted to the left and she looked back towards Cass. "Did you ever go to a school? Probably not I guess." She smiled; "I should bring you with me to a school dance. It would be fun; you could probably out-dance anyone there."  
  
Cass watched as Spoiler flitted from topic to topic in amazement, with this girl around she didn't even need to answer most of the questions posed. She wasn't sure what to make of Spoiler when they first met, and the few times they saw each other before they began the training sessions weren't very productive. Steph was confusing because she brought up all sorts of things that were not related to their work, things that Cass didn't know about.  
  
She had never known what to say to Steph, but she hadn't really known what to say to anyone. The training sessions were starting to change that; she was having more fun training with a partner other than Batman. While Batman practiced every form of martial art there was, and provided the challenge she needed to improve, Spoiler was a welcome change because she made Batgirl strengthen the control and think about each move in order to teach. It would be easy to hurt someone with as little experience in the arts as Spoiler had.  
  
Steph was still talking as Cass moved towards the locker room. They shared a smile before Steph continued on about dresses for dancing a little more. "Don't you think it would be fun? I mean, we don't even have to have dates, we could be each other's date. It's not like Robin could go with us or anything; he'd never take off his mask even if I do know his real name. Of course, he probably wouldn't go for that very reason." Steph frowned and stopped moving for a few moments. Cass noticed the tiny muscle twitches, tension, and sat on the bench next to the other girl.  
  
"We go to dance? Meet your friends? Have fun?" Cass smiled and took Steph's hand, "You teach me to be cool."  
  
Steph smiled back, her hand grasping Cass's for a moment, "Yeah, it'll be fun. Plus, before the dance we can go shopping for something special to wear. It doesn't have to be a dress, and if you want black, well you look good in black. It suits you."  
  
"Shopping?" Cass's expression shifted quickly, from smile to blank and then to a grin, "We eat at food court?" She was beaming as Steph broke into laughter, "Fries and a shake."  
  
"I suppose you don't get a lot of junk food, huh? You certainly can stand to eat that stuff every once in a while if you work out like this daily. I think I've lost about ten pounds in the last three months. Even after Batman returns, we should keep training together. I really like spending time with you, Cass; I'm glad that you've let me get to know you better. Without the mask, I mean." Steph took her hand back and grabbed for her street clothes.  
  
"We be friends. Robin, Nightwing, they friends. Talk, have fun, visit, go places. I want friends. Oracle said, friends good for me."  
  
"Yeah, friends are great when you can really count on them. We're gonna be like that, right? Like Nightwing and Robin are? I'd really like that Cass, I have so few friends I can count on these days and none of them know about the night job." The little twitches were beginning again; Steph was too easy to read sometimes.  
  
"Shopping on weekend, we have fun. Now we get clean, stop sitting here." Cass moved towards a locker and began pulling out her own street clothes. She didn't have anywhere to go, as she lived in her own mini-Batcave, but it was nice to feel normal sometimes. She stripped carefully, setting her uniform aside for minor repairs, and went directly to the shower.  
  
"I'm just going to head home I think, I'll take a shower there. My mom is going to be home soon and if she notices that I've been gone, the weekend will be spent in my room, not shopping. So, see ya later, k?" Steph pulled her clothes on hurriedly. "Training tomorrow, right?"  
  
Cass stopped halfway to the shower, "Tomorrow." She nodded once and then turned back. "Later, Steph."  
  
+  
  
The shopping trip wasn't quite the disaster Steph had anticipated; instead most of the trouble Cass seemed to get them into was fun. It was obvious that she had never shopped with another girl before, she was far too business-like and practical. Steph picked up a pink sundress, "I think you should try this on?"  
  
The look of horror that passed over Cass's face was priceless. "No." She grabbed a pair of black leather pants from a rack a few rows away. "Like these."  
  
Steph laughed and put the pink dress back, "I suppose those are more your style. I like the purple ones better." She strode over to Cass and reached around the other girl to hold up a pair of stretchy dark purple pants. "I could dance in these."  
  
"Good." Cass had been looking out the front of the store towards the food court at odd intervals for about fifteen minutes. She had spotted her favorite ice cream shop when looking at the jackets, and she couldn't stop thinking about going over to get a cone. It had been weeks since she last had ice cream. Oracle and Batman discouraged her love for the sugary treat. She loved ice cream. She wanted ice cream. Cass glanced at Steph; she was going to get ice cream, no one to object today. Steph would probably have some ice cream with her. A good sign that they were meant to be friends.  
  
  
  
(Continued soon I hope) 


	2. Chapter 2

There was something easy about dancing with Batgirl. Of course, Cassandra wasn't hard to look at either. Steph was having a great time at the school dance, and it was beginning to shock her. She had never had so much fun with any of her nighttime colleagues, not even Robin. And Cassandra was just plain sexy in those tight black leather pants. The outfit was not that different from the costume Batgirl wore; black, leather, tight fitting, but the absence of the mask made the girl's face light up with each smile. Her teeth shone under the lights of the dance floor and her eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter. And then there was the dancing.  
  
All of the talent Batgirl had in anticipating the movement of opponents was being put to good use in her dancing. She moved with a fluid grace that Steph envied, and made everyone around them stare. She was a natural dancer, and she followed Steph's lead perfectly. It felt incredible to be moving with another person so closely, and each little brush of hand or thigh as they spun around each other was making Steph's mind go in interesting directions. If she didn't believe that Cassandra would kick her butt, quite easily, across the whole city she would have made a pass. An awkward teenage pass, but one that couldn't be misinterpreted.  
  
Cassandra Cain was also having a wonderful time at the dance, she had never even considered going to one before. There hadn't been school dances in her reality, she didn't even attend school. Her education was progressing nicely in the hands of Stephanie and Oracle though, and she could read whole sentences now. The dance was part of the reward for her accomplishment, though when asked to go to the dance she hadn't understood what it really was. It wasn't so fun to have so many people staring at her, without a mask to hide behind, but she could read their expressions and movements easily enough. There was no hostility in these teenagers, only envy, desire, curiosity.  
  
And the movement was thrilling to her. She lost herself in it every few moments as she followed the simple steps that Steph was doing. Fighting was like second nature to her, sometimes even first, and nothing had felt so close to the sweet sensation of moving with such speed and rhythm. Dancing was becoming one of her favorite things. Her partner seemed to enjoy it also, and it gave her some insight into the training that she had been having trouble with Steph over. She had to file away several ideas to try at their next practice. There was a feeling growing that she didn't want to disrupt with talk of training just yet, plus there were quite a few people that could overhear.  
  
The feeling was quite enjoyable, though Cassandra didn't quite understand it. She felt flushed and warm, but wasn't nearing her physical limits in any way. There was an excitement, an anticipation for something she was unaware of, and yet when she looked at Steph there were almost answers. Steph looked wonderful in her traditional colors, and her long blonde hair bounced and flung around her rosy face as she danced. And then she would look straight into Cassandra's eyes and something would flash across them, between the two girls, that was electric in intensity. 


End file.
